Ever screw up at rehearsal?

Better to screw up at rehearsal than on a gig! I remember when I was just starting to learn songs by ear. We were covering “Starstruck” by Rainbow. The verses are just B, but I played E! Needless to say when I finally gave in and watched a video of someone playing it, I felt really dumb.

 

As our guitarist often says when something doesn't go quite right:

"And that, ladies and gentlemen, was LIVE MUSIC."

As far as I'm concerned a gig isn't really complete till I've missed an entrance (either coming in too late, or too early).

 

Oh yeah. I often reharmonize chords. At least that's what I'm calling it. Jazzing it up.

 

It happens. We're usually within a fret of the correct note

 

Or 1 string over.

 

Oh, heck yeah. I tell everyone I'm pretty much self-correcting, if I can actually hear myself. The art of the quick slide, and all that. Do it twice and call it an embellishment.

 

Once while performing live I was playing C# instead of C during a certain passage on an original. My geetar player leaned over and said "C!" My reaction was "oh yeah". He said, "yeah, it's kinda important." We both cracked up laughing so now "it's kinda important" is our standard retort when in similar situations.

 

Many years ago when I played guitar we played "All Right Now" by "Free". I started it by playing chords on the 5th fret (barred E shape and some strange suspended derivative that seemed to sound right) and after a few bars the singer came in and at the first chorus the rest of the band came in.

Unfortunately I started on the 6th fret which threw the singer for a few notes but he recovered quickly. I then realised my mistake and took it down a fret at a line end which not surprisingly threw him again but he recovered and by the verse end we were playing it in A not Bb (or should it be A#, IDK).

He honestly believed that it was him that screwed up but I did the honourable thing and confessed at the break.

 

I'm in a new trio with two guys that are 12 or so years older than me. We're playing a bunch of 70's songs many of which I was aware of but have never played before. We were running through Freebird (yeah, I know........) and I thought I heard the word "change" which leads into repeating the F, C D part of the progression. Unfortunately the word I heard was "same" so i'm playing those chords over the G, D, E part of the progression. The worst part was that I then had no idea what part of the verse we were in and went back to the G, D, E part as the song got to the F, C, D.
That was exceedingly embarrassing. At least I know I won't make that mistake again.

 

Years ago, I decided to partake of a 'pipe of peace' at a rehearsal with a new trio a guitarist I knew was putting together. I don't remember what the herb really was but I do remember that I didn't remember what the hell I was supposed to do on a fretless 'board. After about five minutes, my mind was like toffee and so were my hands. The fretless apparently sounded like a groaning ox. Rehearsal fell apart soon after, followed by mild paranoia .

Does that qualify?

 

Oh, like when I forget I was in drop-D for the previous song ?
Where did that dang 'A' go ? It was here earlier this evening.

Sometimes I'm so clumsy I can trip over a walking bass line.

 

Never. I screw up only at gigs.

 

Screwing up at rehearsal is why we rehearse.

 

What is this rehearsal you speak of?

 

Sheeeoooooot!

 

That's what rehearsal is for. To work out the mistakes. Several years ago may band was playing in front of a large crowd at casino. The song was in E but the keyboard player started in Eb. I walked over to his side of the stage and told him that the song was in E but he stayed in Eb. The two guitarists and myself ended up switching to Eb. The keyboard player later apologized for the error. I left the band two years ago but he and I still joke about it.

 

Worst ever:

We were playing Night Ranger's "Don't Tell Me You Love Me" in front of an audience. The song is in F# minor. The guitarist had a brain fart and started playing it in G minor. When the rhythm guitarist, drummer and I came in with the punches, we were off by a half-step and so it sounded awful. This confused the drummer and he reversed the beat, so he was now hitting the snare on 1 and 3.
This went on until about the first chorus when the lead guitarist figured it out.
We plowed through to the end.

 

I was in a great band 30 years ago. We tried to never play anything twice the same way. At gigs, the best gag was to signal a one fret modulation just before a harp solo. The guy was good enough to pull off a solo with half of his notes gone. That joke just never got old.

 

All the time... funny thing, the other members make just as many mistakes... so, I don't feel that bad... even the 'pros' make mistakes...

... their's are just really, really good mistakes... the kind you'd like to make, when you're at the top of your game.